On Broadway (DVD), Kino Lorber, Documentary

As live performances on Broadway start up again after an unprecedented absence of 18 months, an all-star cast tells the inside story of the last time Broadway theater came back from the brink. On Broadway shows how this revival helped save New York City, thanks to innovative work, a new attention to inclusion and the sometimes-uneasy balance between art and commerce. Legends of the stage and screen, including Hugh Jackman, Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, and Ian McKellen, take us behind the scenes of Broadway's most groundbreaking and beloved shows, from A Chorus Line to Hamilton. Archival clips of iconic performances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti Lupone, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones and Mandy Patinkin lead the way in a hurly-burly ride through the main street of American show business. A beacon of hope after a devastating pandemic, this documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Oren Jacoby and the producers of RBG shows how Broadway led the way in New York City's last great rebirth and provides a model of how it can come back again.